A jaded police detective teams up with the criminal he’s been pursuing for the last 18 months to pull off a heist.

SYNOPSIS:

Mike Palmer is a jaded Detective Inspector of the London Metropolitan Flying Squad. A man he put away ten years prior, Donovan Carter, has been released from prison and when a spate of robberies plague the city matching his M.O. Palmer is convinced Donovan is his man. After 18 months of investigating however, he is yet to take him down and in the process it has cost him his family.

Donovan has been executing the series of robberies, but he is a reluctant participant, forced into performing the jobs by an aging criminal, Perry Thompson, who protected him whilst in prison. Now under his thumb, Donovan is desperate not to be re-incarcerated and risk losing his family and restaurant business, but to say no to this dangerous man is not an option. With the promise of one final job, Donovan knows he is close to a way out and the chance to lead a straight life.

Mike becomes bitter as he compares his depressing life to the one of luxury Donovan has the pleasure of experiencing, despite being on opposite sides of the law. With his ex-wife threatening to take his daughter to another country, he’ll need money to fight for custody. With pressure from all sides, including his superiors, he reaches breaking point and decides if you can’t beat them, join them.

Mike approaches Donovan with an offer to steal evidence connected to the last robbery in exchange for money. Donovan at first finds this proposal outrageous, suspicious of a set-up. However, after Mike comes through with the goods, Donovan believes having a cop on the team could prove handy and prevent any risk of getting caught. Donovan tells Mike if he wants the money he’ll have to join his team on their next robbery. Mike knows he has no other choice and agrees.

When Donovan introduces Mike to his team they are not happy, fully aware of who he is. Donovan assures that they can trust him, and has already proven his worth, but they still harbour distrust. Their new team member does prove to be reliable though, helping to push the investigation away from them and suppressing leads. This puts a strain on his relationship with his partner DS Jade Edmonds, looking to make a name for herself.

Jade finds the evidence Mike stole and suspects he’s in cahoots with Donovan and has possibly been disrupting the investigation the whole time. Mike is suspended pending a full investigation into his conduct. This isn’t enough for Jade and she makes it her mission to not only bring down Donovan, but also Mike. The evidence she finds ties Donovan’s friend Sebastian to the last robbery and so she uses it as leverage to find out where and when the next heist is planned for.

Things aren’t any easier for Donovan, with his wife suspecting he has returned to his old life. When she stumbles upon cash hidden in the shed, her suspicions are confirmed and she warns Donovan to not go through with the robbery, but when he tells her he must, she leaves. On top of that Perry has discovered Donovan has recruited a police officer and is furious. To ensure nothing goes wrong Perry orders one of his men join them on the job and, if Mike tries anything, to put him down.

The day of the robbery goes well, but when police arrive and surround the building led by Jade, they suspect somebody talked and Mike is the obvious culprit. Perry’s man is ready to kill Mike, but is shot by Donovan who knows Sebastian talked due to his nervous disposition. They manage to escape, Donovan and Mike hiding out in an abandoned warehouse. As they wait for the police presence to die down, Mike realises he has Donovan where he wants him and leaves him tied up, taking the money.

Donovan is arrested, but is able to avoid prison by claiming he was set up by Mike and that he was pursuing a vendetta. Donovan then tracks down Mike prepared to kill him, but upon witnessing Mike can no longer see or interact with his family as he is a wanted man, he believes Mike has punished himself more than Donovan ever could and leaves him to suffer in the mess he’s created for himself.

WITHIN AN INCH